Reflections
by LaughingAstarael
Summary: For each new chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist, a oneshot for Roy andor Riza, depending on who is in the chapter itself. Royai, spoilers. Update: Chapter 63, Roy.
1. Chapter 62, Riza

Edward had hit the nail on the head. She was a hostage.

A hostage, yes, but not quite the way he had meant it. Riza Hawkeye smiled gently into her tea cup. For all that the Elric brothers had gone through, they were still innocents. They had never killed, and until they did, they could not fully understand the actions of those that had.

So she was a hostage, yes, and it pained her to know that if not for her life - the homunculi's trump card - the Colonel could be continuing his offensive more overtly. But Riza knew Roy Mustang, and understood two things: first, that even this would not stop him, but merely slow him down and make him move more carefully; and second, that she was not released from her orders, even now. She had a job to do.

A job. Snorting in bitter humor, Riza stood, shaking her head. It was more than a simple job, an unspoken order. It was the only thing she could give to Roy. Nothing else could be said aloud or admitted in the face of this deadly check, this insumountable separation. They could only continue to speak as professionals, consoling themselves with the knowledge that the other knew what was trying to be said.

"Please don't die." That had been the closest she'd been able to get to the truth they both knew and tried to ignore. Riza knew she'd probably stepped over a bound they'd set out, but what else was she supposed to do? No matter how mutually understood it was, she couldn't bring herself to leave it unsaid.

--

_AN: What I'm going to be trying here is a bit different from my previous fics. This is not going a oneshot - rather, it's going to be a pair of related oneshots for new chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist. They will be Royai (duh), and they will probably not exceed 400 words at any time. The latter is because I've decided to give myself an extra challenge, on top of writing a oneshot for Roy and Riza each every chapter - I will not write more than what takes up a single page in my marble notebook._

_Any and all feedback is very appreciated. _

_Thanks once again to Yellow Mask for beta-ing._


	2. Chapter 62, Roy

"Please don't die," she had said. He could have said the same to her.

Roy Mustang gazed up at the blank white ceiling above his head. He was, he had realized, a fool. He was in this position because he could not sacrifice his pieces, could not depersonalize those under him until they were no longer liabilities. He was in this position because he _cared_.

He snorted, fingering the chess piece in his pocket. What was the use of being on top if everyone below him was a disposable, faceless no one? So he was a fool - it wouldn't be the first time he was pegged as such. For the same reason his people were liabilities, pieces available to be used against him, they were also assets - individuals with skills and loyalty, no matter how far afield they were.

Letting his eyes drop to the wall before him, Roy shifted forward, his gaze far away. Perhaps after he became Fuhrer, after he changed things, after the ghosts of Ishbal were exhumed and examined, and after he was cast down in a fair trial, he would get a change to truly be with her for a little while. It was possible; even if his war crimes were enough for a sentence of death, it wouldn't be immediate. There was a chance.

Taking the queen from his pocket, Roy turned it over carefully in his hands. Yeah. It was possible.

_--_

_AN: The next update will be in about a month, after Chapter 63 comes out. I hope you can bear with me until then (:_


	3. Chapter 63, Roy

Roy had to laugh.

He was going to become Fuhrer to stop the abuse of life. He was going to become Fuhrer to protect the people of Amestris. He was going to become Fuhrer to honor Maes' memory. He was going to become Fuhrer for Riza. And now he was going to become Fuhrer so that Edward Elric would pay him back?

Well, he'd never assumed he was doing this for himself.

"I'll pay you back when you're Fuhrer," the Fullmetal Alchemist had said. Shaking his head, Roy smiled at the memory of Edward's face: the expression had, for a moment, mirrored Riza's whenever she talked about his goal.

The message she'd sent was loud and clear, and Roy appreciated it to the depths of his heart. '_I'm not going to forget_,' she had told him through her talk with Ed. '_I'm not going to forget, and neither should you._' It was a reminder that he wasn't alone.

Sometimes, Roy worried about his lieutenant, though he knew she didn't need his concern, and would probably have been annoyed he wasn't thinking of his own saftey. But here she had indulged him, at the same time reminding him of his reasons. For tonight, Roy could sit back and forget his clever plots, his pretty informants, his constant tightrope walk. For tonight, he could sit back and remember the feeling of having someone he trusted having his back.

--

_AN: Thank you to Yellow Mask for beta-ing. (I hope school calms down for you!)_

_I suck and this is being posted a grand two days before Chapter 64 comes out. (Hey, on the bright side: you won't have to wait too long for the next chapter!) I procrastinated like hell over typing this up, even though it took me only about ten minutes to transfer into Wordpad. No Riza chapter, since Riza wasn't directly in 63. Mmm._

_Yeah._


End file.
